Monthly Archives: May 2014

Ok… so I have had a lot of questions lately about the first post I did on going gluten-free. “Why did you decide to do it?” “How hard is it?” “What do you eat?” “Is it worth it?” “Do you feel better?” “Do you think I could do it?” So I decided that I would give you all a little update on how it’s going and answer some of your questions

So I wish I was kitchen savvy enough that I could come up with my own delicious recipes….but since I’m not I will just share the best ones that I’ve made from Pinterest that are share-worthy.

GRILLED CHICKEN CAPRESE

This recipe had me at Caprese. I love ANYTHING with mozzarella, tomato and basil. Such a beautiful combination… It’s a great meal for a summer day to put on the grill and maybe grab some fresh tomato and basil from the garden. YUM. It’s also a beautiful dish and looks more complex than it really is to make.

Here’s what my family rated it: 9,9,10,7 for an average of 8.75 (my daughter didn’t like the balsamic vinegar it uses)

So this has been a project that has been on my to-do list for a long time and I’m so glad that I finally got to it! When we built our home and moved in almost a year ago there was this corner area off the kitchen that just needed something. I have always wanted a desk area near my kitchen so my family could be on the computer or doing homework and we could all be by each other. It’s turned out to be a great space that I love! We had white shaker style cabinets in our kitchen so I had the desk installed using the same cabinetry. So far it’s just kind of been sitting here without anything going on so I FINALLY got it all put together! It looks great and is so functional for our family!

If you love the gold trend that’s happening right now and want an easy DIY project to add some bling to your home, then have I got the project for you! (It really is the easiest project EVER)

All you need is a vase (I used a glass milk bottle), some scissors, Mod Podge and some gold paper (I found mine at Michaels for $1.99)
I cut a 2 inch strip out of my gold paper. I love the diamond pattern and how the light catches it at different angles
Wrap your strip of paper around your vase to see how wide you need to make it. Then just mark and cut.
The last step is applying a thin layer of Mod Podge on the back of your strip making sure to cover the entire area so there aren’t any gaps or bubbles when you apply it.
And that’s all there is to it! I love the little bit of sparkle and shine that it adds

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken Review

“What’s for dinner?” It’s the dreaded question I hear everyday…. As a working mom I need to make sure that I plan ahead for dinner or else I get home and I’m tired and don’t feel like making anything. Which is exactly why I LOVE any slow cooker recipes. I can throw them in my crock pot in the morning and come home to my home smelling wonderful and dinner DONE. I love to try out new recipes on Pinterest and if I try one that I love then I will share it with all of you! This one is definitely share-worthy:

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

It’s savory and a little sweet with amazing Asian flavor!

My family rated it, 8,8,8,9 (that’s pretty good for my picky eaters!)

If you want to try this recipe just click on the link here to see this on the Just A Taste website

(To make this recipe more gluten-free friendly I used Tamari instead of soy sauce)

So I’m a little embarrassed by this……. We moved into our new house last July and this is how I’ve been storing all of my necklaces- in this lovely plastic storage bin! Yeah…not so great.
As you can imagine…I had quite the mess of knotted-up necklaces. It has been driving me CRAZY and so I finally decided to do something about it.
I have A LOT of necklaces and so I was having a hard time figuring out how I was going to organize all of them (I had over 80 necklaces and decided I probably needed to get rid of some – like 30!)

So one day I came across a box of cup hooks that I had laying around and a little light bulb went off in my head. It was the perfect solution! Now this project is super-duper cheap (my kind of project) I think the cup hooks cost between $1-$2. Then I got a 1×4 from the hardware store, used some silver spray paint I already had, some wrapping paper I already had and some Mod Podge to apply it. So it literally cost me less than $10 for this project.
First I started by cutting my 1×4 to the size I wanted (which turned out to be 21 inches)
Then I gave it a coat of some nice shiny silver paint to match the silver chevron wrapping paper I used.
After it was dry I traced my board onto the back of the wrapping paper to cut out a piece to mod podge onto the front of it.
Apply your mod podge
And adhere your wrapping paper to it. Seriously, so easy. Now you can use whatever kind of paper you want to but I chose wrapping paper because it comes in longer sheets and I liked the sheen it had. And I chose this chevron pattern for a reason…
It made it super easy to mark where I was going to put my cup hooks!
To make this project a little easier on your fingers I would definitely pre-drill your holes before you twist your cup hooks into the wood. I chose a drill bit that was just smaller than my cup hooks (sorry I’m not sure exactly what size). Then you just twist your cup hooks in (warning: this will hurt your fingers so maybe wear some gloves for this part!)
Here’s what it looked like once I had inserted all of my cup hooks
I nailed a picture hanger to the back and hung it on my wall and… VOILA! Now I have a place to store all my necklaces! I hope this can be a helpful project for all you DIYer’s out there who need something like this too!

I just had to share some pics of my day with Kamry. We had so much fun! There’s nothing better than getting to spend one-on-one time with your kiddos. She’s growing up so fast and so I have to treasure these moments!

Have you been to a Pottery Barn lately to see all of their new beachy decor? Fun lanterns, shells, coral, starfish, sea glass..Ah…I love it all. Perfect for summer. But I’m noticing a trend here~I’ve also seen similar things in West Elm and Target. Here’s a couple pages from the latest Pottery Barn catalog

And here’s a little catalog I got in the mail yesterday from Target. Hmm…looks oddly familiar….

I love this beachy look and I’ve got a million ideas floating through my head for my next DIY project. I know there’s a lot of these things that you could recreate for a fraction of the price…so I will keep you all posted!

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My name is MarKay and I'm a mother and wife trying to balance work and home and all the DIY projects and decorating I do in my spare time. It's been a dream of mine for a long time to start this website and I hope to make this a place to be inspired and inspire others! I hope you'll visit often :)